Fire chief hands the con to a new generation
By Mona Mattei
Two decades is enough of a tour of duty for retiring fire chief Blair MacGregor who is looking forward to some well deserved rest and relaxation. MacGregor started as volunteer firefighter and became volunteer fire chief in 1980. He was hired by the city in the more official version of the role in 1996. “It’s been a great career – 32 years in the department,” said MacGregor. “I’ve seen a lot of changes over the past years in the way of equipment. City council recognized Blair’s service at their meeting in December presenting him with a plaque. “Congratulations Blair, it’s a long time to work for the organization,” said Mayor Brian Taylor on MacGregor’s retirement. “I know that you leave with a lot of respect from everyone here.” MacGregor has been well known for his work supporting community events as the fire department found solutions for situations that may have otherwise been challenging. Taylor laughed about a fund raising dance where fire regulations had to be met and MacGregor gave the non-profit group a lot of help to cover that off. During his tenure MacGregor addressed the difficulties for operations of the rural and city fire departments. “One of the things I was really hoping to do during my term was to try and get the two fire departments working as one. We have that happening now as an integrated fire department and it’s working well. I think it’s better for the community as a whole.” Leaving the city and surrounding areas with a better service than when he first started as a volunteer firefighter, MacGregor is looking forward to his retirement that started this month as Dale Heriot takes over the chief’s duties.
“I couldn’t have done it without all the volunteers,” MacGregor concluded. “It takes the whole group to run the fire department, to service the community. I couldn’t have done it without all the volunteers – it was a group effort all the way through.”
Video courtesy of Les Johnson, GFTV
